Iran will not allow military sites inspection: Araqchi

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says Tehran will not allow the inspection of its military sites as part of a prospective nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries.

Speaking at a closed door session of Iranian parliament (Majlis) on Sunday, Abbas Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, stressed that the Iranian delegation has always reaffirmed Tehran’s red lines during nuclear negotiations with the six world powers.

Tehran will never agree to the inspection of its military sites or any interview with its nuclear scientists, he said, adding, “All ways to abuse have been principally blocked during nuclear talks.”

Araqchi also highlighted the role of Majlis in Iran’s nuclear case, saying that Tehran’s acceptance of the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) depends on Majlis approval.

Earlier in the month, he had stressed that the possible inspections of Iran’s non-nuclear sites would not go beyond the framework of the Additional Protocol.

Araqchi and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attended a closed-door session of Majlis to brief lawmakers on the recent nuclear negotiations with the P5+1.

Representatives of Iran and the P5+1 group meet in the Austrian capital city of Vienna in a bid to finalize a deal over Tehran’s nuclear work, April 24, 2015. (AFP photo)
Iran and the P5+1 group — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany — wrapped up their latest round of talks in the Austrian capital city of Vienna on May 22 in another effort to narrow down the remaining differences and pave the way for a possible final nuclear deal.

Iran and the P5+1 are currently working to reach a final accord on Iran’s nuclear program by the end of June.

The two sides reached a mutual understanding on the parameters of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – as the comprehensive agreement on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is called – in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2.